Storytellers | June 2016

Meet our Contributors for this issue

STEFAN WACHSOld Man River
In 2005, Stefan Wachs came through Santa Fe on what was supposed to be a short visit. Ten years later he still calls the city home. Born and raised in Switzerland, he decided to leave a career in international relations and set out to the Southwest on his motorcycle with a camera in hand.

For the past three years, Stefan has been leading photography classes for the Santa Fe Photographic Workshops. Trained in street, editorial, and studio photography, he also works as a freelance photographer and photographic assistant. As a young boy, Stefan was taught how to ice-fish by his father, but this assignment was his introduction to fly-fishing. He thoroughly enjoyed learning about the art and science of the sport, and getting his feet wet during the process.

BARBARA NORRISShake, Rattle & Hum
The magnetic pull of Taos captured Barbara Norris in 1969, when she stopped through to check out the skiing and soak up the counterculture vibe. Decades later, the Dallas-based writer finally began spending part of the year in the magical place that called to her so long ago. Norris covers music, travel, food, and fascinating people for various publications, including Taos Magazine. She also writes fiction and has published several short stories set in the Southwest.

While reporting on the Taos music scene, Norris was struck by the generosity of spirit among the musicians there. “Rather than big egos, I encountered a refreshing eagerness to share the limelight,” she says. “Everyone I spoke with suggested others who absolutely must be included in the piece.”

ELLEN BERKOVITCHThe Hippie and the Hopi
Ellen Berkovitch has been a national arts writer and editor for more than 20 years. In 2009, she founded AdobeAirstream.com, the first digital magazine to cover con- temporary arts in the Rocky Mountain West. It won nine journalism awards last year, including national prizes for best podcast and general website excellence.

Berkovitch was editor in chief of Santa Fe Trend from 2006 to 2008, and wrote art criticism for Albuquerque Journal North for seven years. Her work has been published in the New York Times, Artforum, and Art + Auction. In researching her story about Eveli Sabatie’s jewelry, Berkovitch got to visit the Wheelwright Museum’s archival storage, where she tried on some of the pieces and discovered, to her pleasant surprise, that many of the very small rings that Sabatie created fit her perfectly.

DOUGLAS MERRIAMReels on Wheels and Spring into Summer
Douglas Merriam is a photographer with a passion for travel and food. He splits his time between Santa Fe and Portland, Maine, and shoots everywhere in between. When not on assignment, he can be found at a local farmers’ market with his wife, Shannon, and daughter, Sage, conjuring up the next meal to cook. Merriam’s first drive-in movie was The Love Bug. Later memories include an unsuccessful adolescent attempt to sneak into the movies as a stowaway in a car trunk and documenting drive-ins’ decline for Smithsonian. For this issue, he photo- graphed Jake Cordova and his family as they work to revive the Fort Union Drive-In in Las Vegas. Merriam’s 13-year-old daughter has yet to experience a drive-in movie, but that will change this summer when they return to the Fort Union.